A Finnish member of parliament, Petri Sarvamaa, started a campaign to gather signatures aimed at stripping Viktor Orbán of his right to vote in the European Council. The announcement appeared on Sarvamaa’s own page, and a petition was also published on the social platform X, which previously went by the name Twitter.
“It’s now or never. The EU’s decision making is blocked by Viktor Orbán. The only way to move forward is to deprive Orbán of his voting rights in the Council. At the same time, we will show that blackmail has no place in the EU,” Sarvamaa stated in his post.
He shared a petition drafted by MEP Robert Metsole and urged fellow members of the European Parliament to sign. The document argues that removing Orbán’s voting right in the European Council would send a clear message to Hungary that its actions are unacceptable and out of step with EU norms and rules.
Reports indicate that the current president of the European Council, Charles Michel, was planning to retire in early summer 2024. A Michel aide confirmed this information to Politico in early January, noting that the president intended to become a member of the European Parliament, a move that would require him to step down from his current role.
Should EU leaders fail to reach a quick consensus on who will succeed as president of the European Council, Viktor Orbán could be a leading candidate by default, given that Hungary would hold the EU Council presidency during that period, shaping priorities and pace of EU deliberations as the rotating chair. This situation underscores the strategic leverage that presidency arrangements can confer in EU governance and the ongoing debate about institutional balance within the Union.
Earlier, Hungary’s Foreign Ministry indicated Budapest would seek to influence broader EU perspectives, aiming to widen understanding of its positions across member states and institutions. The ministry’s statements reflect a wider pattern of dialogue and pressure that has characterized EU-Hungary relations in recent years.